1 . Directions: Complete the passage with the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

Most people get sweaty palms just staring at EI Capitan, a breathtaking rock formation i Yosemite National Park, California. Alex Honnold’s stayed dry. And this June, he managed to climb the 900-meter vertical wall, pulling on edges barely big enough for     1    .

Honnold could not     2     any slips. That’s because he carried nothing other than a bag of gymnasts’ chalk, to keep his fingers free of moisture. There was no rope to     3    him if he fell. After a four-hour     4     of power and precision, the 31-year-old safely challenged himself.

EI Capitan had been climbed     5     before, including by Honnold, but never in the way he has. In 2011, an American TV show about his earlier “free solos” drew seventeen million viewers. In climbing, “free” means using nothing but rocks for support.   “ Solo” means free of protection. It is the sport at its       6    . In Yosemite, the birthplace of American climbing, Hannold has reached its peak. Praise from fellow climbers was     7     only by relief at his safe return.

The achievement marks the latest in a series of milestones for sport climbing (竞技攀岩). In 2015, two other American Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, established a route up the Dawn Wall, EI Capitan’s     8    part, after years of attempts. They made the front page of the New York Times and got congratulations from Barack Obama for the achievement. Last year, sport climbing was       9     accepted into the Olympic program for Tokyo 2020.

These have strengthened climbing’s position in the sporting circle in America and elsewhere. Google has invited Jorgeson to give a motivational talk to its employees. Climbing gyms have appeared around the globe over the past decade, making the event safer and more     10    to ordinary people. The gyms have been popular among youngsters, who pay more attentions to exercises than to belongings.